Bear of My Heart
by Fire Bear1
Summary: When Arthur's family was moving when they were both toddlers, Alfred got him a teddy bear. That was where it started.
1. Bearing All

_**There is no "fluff" category for genres. But this has got to be the fluffiest story I've ever written. Even if this story is rated T. But that's only because there are a couple of teenage boys discussing things they've been doing. **_

_**And I'll explain my inspiration for this story afterwards.**_

* * *

Standing in front of the door, Alfred stayed close to his mother as she knocked, a smile on her face. The little boy couldn't understand why she was smiling when he was sure this was the worst thing to ever happen. He clutched at her skirt and, as they waited, Alfred hid the present behind him - he wanted it to be a surprise.

The woman who eventually answered smiled at them both and greeted them. Alfred merely smiled for a moment before looking around her legs for the person he was actually there to see. Seeing him so impatient, the two women giggled and his friend's mother called on him.

There was the distant patter of small feet which grew louder until, eventually, a small boy peered around his mother's legs. He had messy blonde hair which didn't seem to have been combed, though Alfred knew this was untrue. His huge eyebrows were still starkly at odds with his age and tiny frame. But he had inherited them from his father, so it made sense. The most striking feature, however, were his wide, green eyes. Alfred especially loved them when they were lit up and sparkling.

"Hey, Artie!" he said, cheerfully.

"It's Arfur," he corrected, as best he could with his cute toddler's lisp. It was adorable and so Alfred had taken to calling him 'Artie' just to hear it.

Grinning, Alfred said, "Arthur." He sobered suddenly and pouted. "I heard that you're gonna be going back to England."

"Yeah," said Arthur, fiddling with the hem of his pristine, white t-shirt.

"That sucks!" cried Alfred. "Whose knight am I gonna be, now?"

"I dunno," Arthur said, quietly.

Alfred knew from that reaction that Arthur was miserable about the move, too. He was pretty sure that Arthur thought of him as his best friend. And Alfred thought of Arthur as his best friend, too, despite him being younger. He loved spending time with him and winding the little boy up. It was amazingly sweet to watch him suddenly speak in gibberish to him only to have him declare that he had cast a spell on Alfred. A couple of hours later and Alfred would be a knight, saving the day, helped by the good warlock Arthur (because Arthur had cried when Alfred had tried to make him the bad guy).

And, although Arthur had been shy to begin with and was still shy with new people, he would always talk to Alfred. Sometimes, he would babble for hours about fairies and unicorns. Alfred would respond with superheroes and aliens. Some of their games got a bit chaotic but they were always amazing and Alfred loved it.

He would definitely miss them.

"Well, you gotta write to me, okay? Or... Maybe draw pictures instead, huh?"

"Hey!" cried the feisty little boy, suddenly regaining his spunk. "Don't make fun of me!"

The American grinned. Because he was a little older, he had already learned his alphabet and how to make words. Arthur was a little behind. "You're gonna have to learn fast, huh?"

"I will! I'll learn just to read your letters!" claimed Arthur, looking determined.

Alfred laughed and moved forward to ruffle Arthur's hair. "And I'll make sure to read yours. There's just one more thing, 'kay?"

"Huh?"

"I got you a present." And, with that, he brought the present out and held it to Arthur with both hands. It was a teddy bear, taller than Arthur with a ribbon tied around its neck. The ribbon had the stars and stripes on it and, hopefully, would remind the kid of him.

His favourite sight instantly occurred: Arthur's eyes widened and they seemed to sparkle. "Wow!" he said, drawing out the word. He reached out for it, his hands making grabbing motions. Laughing, Alfred relinquished the bear: Arthur immediately hugged it tightly.

"Just don't forget about me, 'kay?"

* * *

Alfred wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's shoulders and drew him closer. He was very, very glad that they hadn't lost contact with each other after the other had moved. And now, Arthur sat beside him and supported him through every decision – even going to a college close by so he could still see the high school student. Placing a kiss to his head, he sighed.

"So, how do you like my new place?" he murmured into golden locks.

"Hm. It could do with a thorough cleaning, love," said Arthur, teasingly.

Glancing around at the unpacked boxes, Alfred laughed. "Yeah, well. All I need is you and the bed."

Although he couldn't see Arthur's face, the pause before he spoke meant that he was blushing. And the slight tremble in his voice when he finally spoke seemed to prove it to him. "Are... Are you sure?" he asked.

"Of course!"

"What about the fridge, the microwave and the phone for calling fast food places?" Arthur teased, twisting round to grin at him.

"Ah," said Alfred, hesitating himself. "Well, I don't want just them _right now_," he informed Arthur, winking. This time he could see the blush.

"Alfred F. Jones!" shrieked Arthur, hitting him with a cushion. "I knew you just wanted me for my body, you pervert!"

Laughing, the American caught Arthur's wrists and gave him a peck. Arthur stopped struggling at the kiss but pouted a little once Alfred had pulled away. Grinning widely, Alfred dropped Arthur's wrists and put his hands on the smaller teenager's waist. "You _love_ it, though. And you can't deny it!" he sang.

Scoffing, Arthur rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Don't assume anything, Al," he said.

"I wouldn't dream of it, Arfur," said Alfred, watching for his boyfriend's glare. He didn't disappoint.

"You are so childish," he muttered, shaking his head. "Now, be serious for a second-"

"Anything for my awesome warlock," interrupted Alfred.

"I will stab you with my pen," said Arthur, smoothly, before continuing as if there had been no interruptions. "Do you need help unpacking this week? My parents are going to be away with Peter so I'll be alone – and able to actually stay over. You know how Mum and Dad are. We can work through the day and..." He trailed off and glanced away, the red cheeks giving away his thoughts.

"Ooh, an empty house! Are you sure you don't want to throw a party and go back to being all rebellious?" Alfred grinned down at him.

Arthur sighed and shook his head. "I'd rather help you get settled in."

Nodding, Alfred slid his hands behind Arthur and pulled him towards his chest. He was thinking of something which had been bugging him for a while now. For all the time they had been together, Arthur had not once let him in his room. With his refusal to explain beyond not wanting them to get caught up in making out and being interrupted by his younger brother, Alfred still had no idea why he was kept away from the room with diligence. He had been in the living room and kitchen, of course, but the bedroom was out of bounds. Once, he had been caught trying to sneak a peek – Arthur had yelled at him and the resulting argument had meant they hadn't spoken for three days.

It was three days too much.

So, how best to approach this issue...

"Hey... You know what would be kinky?" The grunt from Arthur allowed Alfred to continue. "If we were able to do it in your bedroom."

Instantly, Arthur stiffened. And, instantly, Alfred knew the answer. "Y-You are utterly hopeless. No, we can have sex here."

"All right," agreed Alfred, not wanting an argument when he felt so comfortable.

"I have to go home tonight, by the way," added Arthur. "There's a package coming tomorrow and I have to be there to sign for it."

"Okay," said Alfred. "But... You have enough time before you leave, right?"

Arthur sighed. "You are insatiable."

* * *

Enough is enough – is what Alfred had decided after Arthur had left the night before. And so he had set an alarm, gotten up early and rushed over to Arthur's house. There, he waited in the bushes, watching for the opportune moment.

When a FedEx truck pulled up – finally – he knew it was his moment. Quickly, he emerged and rushed to the door of the house. Once he had knocked on the door, he glanced over his shoulder to make sure the deliveryman was coming up the path. Satisfied, he returned his attention to the door and was happy when Arthur pulled it open.

The English boy blinked at him. "Alfred? What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to see you," he replied and sidled around him as the man behind him reached the door.

"Al-? Oh, hello. Er, thank you," he heard Arthur say as he hurriedly kicked off his shoes and rushed for the stairs.

Leaving behind his boyfriend, Alfred took the stairs two at a time and went straight for the door he knew was Arthur's room. Without hesitation, he took hold of the doorknob and was about to turn it when he heard a shout from below.

"If you bloody well go in that room, I'll-!"

"Too late!" called Alfred, grinning. He turned the knob and threw the door open as he heard the thundering of Arthur's approach.

In all the time he had known about Arthur's phobia of having Alfred in his room, the American had ran through several scenarios in his mind. Perhaps he had a lot of embarrassing items or pictures. Maybe he had taken candid photos of him before they had gotten together. Had they not redecorated and Arthur was in a girl's room?

He had not expected what he saw.

On top of a dresser, pride of place, was a teddy bear he recognised, its distinctive ribbon still tied firmly in place. Beside it, sat other teddy bears, each from a different place. Then, on every other surface, sat teddy bears. Some were tiny. Others seemed to have been presents for birthdays and other occasions. Still others seemed to have been home-made and told a story of increasing proficiency. There were literally hundreds of teddy bears in the forest green room. The bed was covered in them and Alfred wondered how Arthur slept on it.

Gazing around in disbelief, Alfred picked up a small, green thing. It may have been a teddy but it was one of the home-made ones and looked more like a bunny. He was busy examining it when Arthur grabbed it from him. They stared at each other. It took Alfred a while to realise that his boyfriend had teared up and his lower lip was trembling.

"Y-You can mock me if you want," he choked out. "Peter does." And, pouting, he hugged the little green teddy close.

Immediately, Alfred was remembering the last time he had seen Arthur looking so cute. Now, he was no less adorable than he was then. Chuckling, he reached out and pulled the shorter boy towards him so that his arms wrapped around Arthur's shoulders and his chin rested atop the blonde head.

"I'm not going to make fun of you," he sighed. "How can I, when you're looking so breathtakingly gorgeous?"

Arthur stiffened in his arms before relaxing. Alfred could almost see his smile. "Thank you," he heard Arthur whisper into his chest.

"Is this the reason you wouldn't let me in here?"

"Y-Yes... It's stupid I know, but..." Arthur pulled away so he could gaze into Alfred's eyes. "I just... You got me that teddy and I was so attached to it that, well..." He blushed and cleared his throat. "People saw me with it and they began buying me more teddies. And then I started seeing teddies when I travelled and, when I was young, it felt like it was important I got a teddy from every country we visited. And-And there were the ones I saw and thought they were cute. Um. Of course, some of these aren't... Well. I found a book on how to make your own and I began trying and I've got a little better but...

"They just kept increasing! And now I can barely fit in my own bed. I didn't think... it would be wise to... _you know_," he finished, lamely.

"This has to be the most adorable addiction I have ever seen," said Alfred, grinning.

"Sh-Shut up!" cried Arthur, glancing away.

"Which ones have you made, then?" he asked, glancing around.

A second of hesitation passed on Arthur's part before he walked over to the head of his bed and picked up the teddy he had left atop his pillow. He hugged both teddies to his chest before turning and approaching Alfred again. His cheeks were pink once again.

"This... This one is my most recent one. It's-" He relinquished his death grip and turned it around so that Alfred could see. The fur was a lighter colour, almost a blonde. Its eyes were blue and a pair of soft, felt glasses had been stuck on its face. The mouth was open and grinning. Clothes had been knitted for it: a little hoodie and a pair of blue pants. Lastly, and most importantly, was a little part of the fur at the top of its head stood up – like a cowlick.

"Is that-?" Alfred breathed.

"I-I figured that... you'll be busy and I'll be busy when the school year starts again so... If I ever get lonely..." Embarrassed, he turned the bear around again and buried his face in its fur.

Alfred stared at Arthur. "Holy shit," he said and watched as Arthur flinched. "Holy shit, are you adorable." And, with that, he scooped his own, personal teddy into his arms and kissed him.

* * *

_**Heh. It's so cute, it's sickening.  
**_

_**Anyways, the reason for this story is that it's based on real life. Well... Here:**_

_**I have a lot of teddy bears. A lot. I had so many at one point that I hated sleeping with them on my bed (where I kept them in my shared room). So my mum bought me a toy hammock and I put all the smaller ones in that and only a few bigger ones stayed on my bed. Then... there were the birthday presents... and the prizes from hook-a-duck because that was the only semi-decent thing I'd won (I am very bad at that. Or they're cheating me.) And then I started buying cute things from the place I volunteer. And the Hetalia plushies. And then the cute things. And- **_

_**... I have a lot and this story came to me the other night when I had to pull out one of the numerous teddies from under me as I tried to sleep.**_

_**For some reason, I had an image of Arthur being given a teddy by Al as a kid...**_

_**Anyway, as for the story, I decided that Arthur would be younger because... he'd be cuter if he fell in love with the first teddy and was younger than Al. And that's the only reason.**_

_**I really think that's all I have to say about this...**_


	2. Bearing Gifts

_**I know I marked this as complete originally but... I had an idea for a second part. =/**_

* * *

Both Arthur and Alfred were relieved that their exams were over for the Christmas holidays. Neither had seen the other for a few weeks as they both obsessively studied, though they had messaged each other and spoke on the phone. Alfred was having a hard time of it. College work was much more demanding than high school but he worked as hard as he could. He told Arthur that it was all for his boyfriend – after all, if he failed, his career would be scuppered and what would they do then?

Christmas for both of them had always been a time for their families. They concentrated on each other for much of the year but they would pretend to be more interested in their parents and siblings and cousins on that day. It was torture but it was tradition.

This year, however, they had decided to spend the night before with each other, to open gifts and spend time with each other. Arthur's parents had even deemed it appropriate that he stayed overnight and Alfred brought him home the next morning on his way to his own parents' place.

Arthur had found the perfect present and he checked every two minutes that it was in its place on the ride there. It was going to be the perfect Christmas; he could feel it in the air.

* * *

The taxi he had ridden from the school finally arrived at the block of flats his boyfriend was in. After paying and thanking the driver, he slung his backpack onto his shoulders and walked up to the intercom. He pressed the button and waited.

He would have preferred to have just walked in, but he didn't have a key. It would be handy, he thought, if he had a spare key – then he could come and go as he pleased. And, if Alfred had been having a trying day, he could get in before the other and surprise him with a home-cooked meal.

"_Artie, that you?_" asked Alfred's static-y voice.

"If by 'Artie', you mean 'Arthur', then, yes," drawled Arthur, rolling his eyes. "And I thought this thing had a camera?" he added, tapping at the little glass dot above the speaker.

"_It's broken – somehow,_" sighed Alfred. "_Come on up._" And, with that, there came a buzzing noise from the door. "_Hurry!_" cried Alfred as Arthur took his time to open it.

"All right, all right!" Arthur shouted back as he entered.

Deciding to get some exercise, Arthur chose to take the stairs and climbed three flights to the fourth floor. That always confused and irritated him. Why on Earth did they call it the fourth when there were only three flights of stairs? Why was the ground floor considered the first?

When he finally reached his boyfriend's door, it was open, Alfred hopping impatiently. "Why didn't you take the elevator?" he wailed.

"For three floors?" scoffed Arthur. "I'm not so lazy as to do _that_."

Alfred pouted. "But it would've gotten ya here faster."

Gazing at his expression, Arthur's heart swelled. Although it bemused him how he managed to act far more mature than his older boyfriend, he couldn't deny that he was cute when he wanted to be. Apparently, now was the time to do so – and attempt to make Arthur feel bad for keeping him waiting.

"Darling," he sighed, knowing how Alfred loved his pet names. "We have a whole 24 hours to ourselves. It doesn't matter how long it takes me to get here, for I shall not leave your side – for a while."

The American grinned. "Well, I figured you'd use the stairs, so I've made some tea. Hurry, hurry!"

"Yes, yes," said Arthur dismissively. He entered the flat, slipped off his shoes and put down his bag before turning to Alfred who had shut the door. Leaning up on his tiptoes he gave Alfred a quick peck to the cheek before pulling off his gloves.

"Ah, baby, d'ya need help with your coat?" asked Alfred with a grin.

"Shut it, you," said Arthur, scowling a little as he shoved the gloves in his pocket. He hated the name 'baby' – it made their age difference far too stark, in his opinion. "I'm fine-" he began only to be stopped as Alfred reached forward and began unbuttoning it, running his fingers lightly down his chest. The coat itself was a beige trench coat that Alfred had insisted made him look like a far neater 'Castiel' from Supernatural. After Arthur had claimed no knowledge of the angel in question, the marathon of Supernatural he had been forced to endure had actually been a fun weekend. Now, though, it was quickly slipped off, leaving Arthur with his scarf and school uniform.

"Why the heck are you wearing _that_?" asked Alfred, incredulous.

"I'll get changed, geez," sighed Arthur as he removed his scarf. "I had some things to sort out for January so I had to go to the school. There's nowhere to get changed there, since everything bar the student council room was locked, so I'll be using the bedroom. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course no- Ah! No, use the bathroom!" exclaimed Alfred, suddenly looking worried.

Arthur blinked as he took his coat from Alfred's hands and hung it up with his scarf. "Why? What's wrong with your room?"

"I-It's just..." The older of the two squirmed and glanced towards the room in question. "Your present's in there – I don't want you seeing it by accident or something before I get to surprise you."

"Fine," sighed Arthur. "I'm not going to go looking for it, you know, but I'll respect your wishes." Crouching down, he unzipped his bag and removed the clothes he intended to wear. "I'll leave my bag for you to put in there, then, whilst I get changed."

"Right!" said Alfred, looking cheerful again. "And, when you're coming out, just leave your uniform in the laundry basket. I'll wash 'em for you before New Year's, 'kay?"

Arthur blushed and looked down at the floor. "You don't really need to..." he murmured.

But Alfred leaned down and pulled Arthur's face up with both hands gently cupped around his cheeks. "I'm gonna do it, dontcha worry 'bout it." He kissed Arthur on the lips, a chaste one with a smile. "Love you," he said as he lifted Arthur's bag off the floor.

"Love you, too," Arthur replied as he followed his boyfriend down the hall before turning into the toilet.

* * *

Arthur stepped out of the bathroom and dumped his school uniform into the laundry basket. He had opted to wear something comfortable and easy to remove – baggy tracksuit bottoms (which may have originally been Alfred's) tied as tightly as possible at the waist and a slightly too big Firefly t-shirt (he had accidentally bought the wrong size, what with the differences between British and American sizing). It was his favourite one, the dinosaurs with the infamous line written on it. He remembered snorting with laughter as he tried to remain sceptical of the show about "space cowboys" that his then friend had insisted he watch.

Wondering whether Alfred would be in the kitchen with the tea or in the living room, Arthur decided to check the latter first. He crossed the hall in a few strides and opened the door. What he saw on the other side, though, caused him to freeze.

The furniture had been pushed to the side so that a large, red-chequered blanket could lie flat on the floor. Upon the blanket were several plates of small, triangular sandwiches and cocktail sausages and chicken wings and lots of other finger foods. There was even a cake stand with numerous cupcakes resting on it. Seated there, ready to eat, were several of his own teddy bears, including the one he had made to look like Alfred (which he had hugged tightly during the days he had to study for his exams) and the one Alfred had given to him all those years ago.

"Merry Christmas, Arthur," said Alfred from behind him and Arthur spun around.

"W-What...?" he managed to say as he stared at the tray in Alfred's hands. Upon it was a tea set, entirely adorned with small teddy bears. It was extremely cute and it made Arthur's heart swell with pride and love. "You've got a teapot," he said, a little hoarse in his surprise.

"Yup," said Alfred with a grin. "This is one of my Christmas presents for you. D'ya like it?"

"Oh, Al," breathed Arthur, his expression softening to one saturated with love. "Of course I do."

"Great. I thought you could leave the teapot here and ya can make tea whenever you come over. I know you hate making it in the mug and everything. And, look – teddy bears!"

"Speaking of which," Arthur interjected when Alfred took a breath from his excited ramblings. "Why are mine here?"

"Ah, well, I was thinking, ages ago, before summer ended, that we could go for a picnic. But then, somehow, I remembered all your teddies and thought it'd be epic to have a teddy bears' picnic with you, right? 'Cause I thought you'd _love_ that. But you wouldn't want to do it outside or nothing so I dismissed that in the summer. Then I was thinking of something to get ya for Christmas and I remembered that idea. So I asked your parents to give me them this morning when I knew you wouldn't be in – I'd already called and your brother told me you were doing 'important Student Council President' things today." Alfred, who had been grinning as he recounted his tale, suddenly shifted uncomfortably and his smile turned sheepish. "Er, you don't mind, right?"

There was silence as Arthur stared. Then, just as silently, he took the tray and set it carefully on the blanket before returning to stand before Alfred. "Of course I don't mind," he sighed, exasperatedly, as he threw his arms around Alfred's neck. "I _love _it. Thank you so much, darling." And, with that, he kissed Alfred full on the lips.

This time, instead of a quick peck, Arthur opened his mouth a little and tilted his head slightly. Alfred could never resist slipping his tongue into Arthur's mouth any chance he could get and now was no exception. Arthur had gotten used to Alfred dominating most of the time and he let him – most of the time, now included.

Suddenly, Alfred pulled away. "Ah, uh, Artie," he panted. "Not in front of the kids." He grinned at his boyfriend and nodded to the teddies.

Arthur smirked. "And quite right, too. Shall we?"

"Definitely!" Alfred nodded vigorously and they both sat down. "I, er, like what you're wearing," he added, his cheeks a little pink, a shy smile playing at his lips. He really looked adorable when he acted like that – Arthur could tell what he was really thinking so he smirked.

"Thank you," he said as he reached for the pot.

"Ah, no!" cried Alfred and grabbed for the pot, too. They both froze and Arthur looked at Alfred with a raised eyebrow. "I... I wanna pour it."

"Okay," acquiesced Arthur with a sigh.

Alfred grinned widely and quickly poured some. "I iced the cakes, by the way," he said as he worked. "My oven's broken so I couldn't actually bake any..."

"Maybe I should have," suggested Arthur. When Alfred flinched, he sighed. "I'm not _that_ bad. It's only been a couple of incidents."

"Coupla hundred," muttered Alfred. Arthur threw a sandwich at him. "Hey! Don't throw the food! This is supposed to be all civilised and shit."

"Your lack of eloquence for such a task is aggravating," said Arthur, turning his nose up in mock disgust.

"Like you're much better," Alfred argued, sounding grumpy. When Arthur looked back at him, he was pouting. "Well? Do you like your tea?"

Taking the cup and saucer handed to him – it was really adorable and he couldn't wait to use them more – Arthur quickly sipped at it. Surprised, he nodded. "Yes, that's much better than usual. Thank you."

"No problem!" said Alfred, grinning. "So... How was your Student Council stuff?"

"Oh, God," groaned Arthur. "I'm regretting becoming the bloody president..." With that, he launched into a tirade of why his subordinates weren't useful in the least. Their discussion was interrupted by bouts of eating the sandwiches and cakes. Occasionally, one or the other of them would pick up a teddy and have it 'talk' to the other. The hysterics from these usually lasted a few minutes, but they were refreshed with a cup of tea – until it ran out.

"Bollocks," sighed Arthur as he tried to pour himself another cup. "I'll go-"

"No!" Alfred cried, leaping to his feet. "I'll go!"

Arthur chuckled slightly. "You're too kind to me," he said, smiling softly.

"Well, anything for you." Alfred leant over, scooped up the tray, pecked Arthur's cheek and was suddenly gone, leaving Arthur with his teddies.

* * *

What on Earth was taking his boyfriend so long? Surely it didn't take that long to boil a kettle? Had he put too much water in again?

With a sigh, Arthur carefully placed the teddy he had opted to call Opal back in her place. Just as he was about to rise, though, the handle rattled and he paused, glancing over. It seemed he was worrying for nothing.

The door opened and Alfred walked in, carrying the tray – and sporting bear ears on his head. Not only that, but he was wearing a tight, white t-shirt and equally tight, black jeans. His feet were now bare as he stepped around the teddies. Arthur sat frozen and stared.

"Uh, hi, Artie. Some more of your present," he explained as he bobbed his head. It seemed that the ears were not a headband: rather, they were individually pinned to his hair. "And! Look!" With that, Alfred turned and shook his behind, showing off a tail tied to a loop in his jeans so that it appeared to be poking through his trousers.

"What...?" Arthur said, very confused – and, oddly, elated.

Alfred turned back around. "I'm your own, life-sized, awesome teddy bear!" he declared, grinning.

Once again, there was silence as Arthur took in what he had said. To think, the man had gone this far. He broke into a wide smile. "Well, don't sit down over there where I can't reach you. I need you over here" - he patted the space on the floor beside him - "so I can cuddle you, you know."

Beaming, Alfred did as he was told, fighting to keep the tray steady as he knelt down and settled himself. Arthur rolled his eyes. Any sensible person would have put it down first. Finally, he was comfortable and he placed the tray on the blanket.

The breath caught in Arthur's throat as he goggled at the item Alfred had been trying to hide till the last moment. A small box sat nestled between the teapot and the milk jug. Arthur couldn't believe it. He wasn't asking him to... was he? The Englishman could barely let himself think it, never mind answer. What was he supposed to say? He couldn't say yes – he still had half a year at school, for God's sake! But... he didn't want to say no...

He looked to Alfred for answers but found more questions. The man was gazing at him with a soft smile, a twinkle in his eyes. Was he really going to ask him in the middle of a blooming teddy bears' picnic?!

"Al?" he croaked, not quite sure if he was still breathing.

"Calm down, Artie," said Alfred. "It's not _that_. Hang on." He picked up the box and turned to Arthur, opening it reverentially.

Inside, something silver glinted, making Arthur's heart stop. It was true he had been thinking it would be more efficient but... Was he asking him something different? Was he asking him to _move in_, of all things? For, inside that innocuous box, was a small, silver key. A key which could open a door.

"It's for the apartment," Alfred confirmed. "It's really just a spare key, okay," he added, lowering the box so that he could look Arthur in the eyes. "I'm not asking you to m-move in... I mean, not yet- Not that I mean- Er..."

Funnily enough, despite the stammering, Arthur understood perfectly. He flung his arms around Alfred's neck and pulled him close, pecking his cheek before holding him close. "Thank you. Thank you, Al! This is... Ah, all of this is amazing. Thank you so much."

Alfred chuckled and wrapped his arms around Arthur's waist, pulling him as close as they could get with their clothes still on. They stayed like that for a few moments.

However, Arthur's thoughts soon turned from contentment to his own present. After everything he had just been given by his brilliant boyfriend, he was going to turn around and hand him a small box. A single box. There was nothing else. How could he have been so selfish?

"Art? Are you crying?" asked Alfred, suddenly, obviously alarmed at the wetness on his neck. "What's wrong?"

Pulling away, Arthur looked elsewhere in shame. "I-I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"What for?" Alfred was staring at Arthur in confusion. He reached for the Brit but Arthur shook his head and jerked his arm away. "Artie, c'mon. Tell me what's wrong."

"I-I didn't... I only got you... one present," Arthur managed to say through his quiet sobs. "I-I didn't think... And then you got- All of these presents – I don't deserve them, Al!"

Sobbing filled the room as Alfred stared at him. Arthur tried to look away but he had always been drawn to looking at his boyfriend and, now, he kept glancing back, worriedly checking for disappointment. Finally, Alfred's shocked expression morphed into a fond smile.

"Don't be silly," he said, still smiling. "Anything you get me will be _awesome_. It always is."

Somehow, through his tears, Arthur blushed. "You don't mean that..."

"Yeah, I do. Lemme see it, honey. Honestly, I'm just glad to see you after so long."

Eventually, Arthur stopped crying. Alfred gently wiped away his tears with his thumbs, a smile still permanently fixed to his face. Nodding, Arthur shakily said, "Okay. I'll go get it."

He rose and hurried from the room, taking deep breaths to calm himself. Being away from Alfred made him want to burst into tears again. Berating himself for being such an idiot, he pulled the box from his bag and returned. Once he had knelt beside Alfred once more, he handed it over.

"Is it the key to your heart?" joked Alfred. "I mean, I didn't think I needed more than one."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Just open it."

So Alfred did. He paused once he had, staring at it, a small frown on his face. Arthur couldn't work out whether he was disappointed or confused. Slowly, Alfred pulled the thing out, the quiet clinking filling the room as Arthur held his breath. Alfred turned the dogtags round and gazed at it before looking to Arthur for an explanation.

"Well, er, you always loved World War Two in History, so, when I saw these, I had to buy them. And I made sure to get your name on it. The serial number is your birthday and the number from your American football shirt. I-I didn't put the rest of it, you know, where you come from and all that. I don't want people who meet you on the street to know too much about you."

"But it's only on one of them."

"Ah, I didn't think I should put it on both..." Arthur trailed off, staring at one of his teddies. He was feeling an urge to hug one of them right now.

Instead, he was pulled into a hug by a very different teddy. "Thank you, Arthur! It's awesome!"

"R-Really?" asked Arthur in disbelief, pulling away slightly. When he looked into his boyfriend's eyes, he could see the sincerity within them. "You truly like it?"

"No way – I love it!" With that, Alfred pulled them over his head – and bear ears – to settle around his neck. "See? I told you it wouldn't matter if you'd gotten one or a hundred. Everything you've given me is perfect."

Feeling a blush creeping onto his cheeks, Arthur turned his head slightly. That didn't stop him from being crushed in another hug. "But... I _did_ think of something else." he muttered.

"Oh?"

"We need to be in the bedroom for that, though."

A pause. "_Oh_!"

* * *

"Your parents throw an awesome New Year's party," said Alfred, grinning as he handed Arthur a tall glass.

"Is this champagne?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yup. Swiped it off the table. Drink it, quick, before your parents see you with it."

Arthur smirked. "You know fine well I've been drunk before. And my parents said I could have one glass, anyway."

"How many have you had?"

"This is my third."

"Is that why you're swaying, babe?" asked Alfred, sweetly, grinning widely.

"Oh, shut up," sighed Arthur. He nodded at the large digital clock his parents had affixed (temporarily) to the wall. "We've only got a couple of minutes."

"Yup." Alfred sneaked a sip of his champagne and his shirt shifted a little. A glint of something underneath caught Arthur's eye and, before Alfred could protest, Arthur caught it and pulled. The dogtags clinked as they came into view.

The boyfriends shared a smile. Arthur handed Alfred his glass and stepped closer, turning the tags over in his hands. He was about to say something when he noticed something. Only one of them had been engraved when he had given them but, now, there were words on the other. Looking closer, his eyes widened at what he saw: his own name within a heart. It was a simple design but made Arthur's own heart beat faster. A fond smile slipped onto his face as he gazed up at his boyfriend.

"Ten!" shouted the people around them, all of a sudden. "Nine!"

"You..." murmured Arthur.

"Hey, you get to have that teddy to comfort you when I'm not around," explained Alfred, blushing slightly. "Now I have something to hold onto when _you're_ not around."

"Two!"

Arthur didn't respond in words. Instead, he slowly wrapped his arms around Alfred's neck and kissed him.

* * *

_**This came about because, a while ago, my mum mentioned that there had been a teddy bear's picnic near me - I hadn't heard about it and was sort of devastated (even if it was probably more for kids than me). So I declared that I would get my friends to have one with me. (My mum then suggested a teddy bear's tea party. So this is kind of a mix of the two?) **_

_**The key thing wasn't supposed to be there - neither was the tea set, really. But I'm glad my brain went "Bzzt! Idea!" because it's pretty sweet. The reason for the key, though, is that Alfred and Arthur have had a couple of irritating happenstances where Arthur came to visit only for Alfred to be gaming with his headphones on. Arthur was stuck outside for a while. Or the time he sent Arthur ahead with the key, only to realise he needed to buzz and wait for Arthur to answer (and Arthur had never answered it before and couldn't figure it out so had to ride down in the lift and open the door manually. By the time he got down, someone had been in the process of leaving and had already opened the door.) He thought this would be easier, even if they're not living together.**_

_**The mention of the camera and it "not working" is because my friend's flat is supposed to have it. But the video feed doesn't work. Not that it matters when he and his girlfriend just buzz you up without waiting to find out who it is... (Though that's mostly when they're expecting people.)**_

_**I had no idea what Arthur should get Alfred for his birthday, so. Dogtags.**_

_**I think that's it... Just an apology for the bear puns in the chapter titles. ^^"**_

_**(Also, this **_**should _be it completed now...)_  
**


	3. Too Many Bears

_**I know I said this was completed but... I had an idea the other day and decided to add this onto the story. It's a little less fluffy but Artie's growing up and, well...**_

* * *

Arthur had fully intended to stay with his parents during his college years – it was cheaper and he wouldn't have to share a room with anyone. Then, just before the academic year started, Alfred had come to him and shyly asked if he would be willing to move in. There was no hesitation in his answer and, after convincing his parents, he had begun to pack.

A week later, Alfred came round to pick him up. The American was rather surprised at the amount of boxes. "Woah..." he breathed, staring at the tottering piles in Arthur's room.

"Er," said Arthur, blushing slightly. "Sorry – I have more things that I thought I did."

"It's fine," said Alfred with a grin. "Just gonna take longer to get them all in the car- Actually, there might not be enough room for 'em all."

"Mum already offered to drive some of the... 'less important', shall we say, boxes later in the week. If... that's okay with you...?"

Alfred's smile softened and he closed the distance between them so he could pull Arthur into a hug. The smaller man made himself comfortable, tucking his head beneath his boyfriend's chin. "'Course it's fine!" he said, pressing a kiss to the top of Arthur's head. "Mi casa es su casa."

* * *

Three days later, Arthur was finishing unpacking his books whilst his boyfriend was at work. It was just as he opened the last box when he heard the buzzer. Hurriedly, he stood and made his way over to answer. "Hello?" he said.

"Arthur, dear, I have the rest of your things here."

"Ah, great! I'll be down in a moment."

And so the afternoon was taken up by moving boxes and entertaining his mother with tea and biscuits. Once she had left, he finished with the books and excitedly opened the new boxes. Each one contained his teddy bears. Reverentially, he removed the teddy he had gotten from Alfred all those years ago and hugged it tight. Then he continued unpacking the rest.

By the time Alfred unlocked the front door of the flat, Arthur had balanced teddy bears all over the living room and was debating where to put the rest. He stopped, though, and hurried to the hall. Returning Alfred's happy grin, Arthur declared, "My mum brought over the last of my boxes – I'm officially moved in!"

"Awesome!" cried Alfred and hurried forward to pull Arthur into a tight hug. "Are we gonna celebrate later?"

"Maybe once I've finished unpacking." Arthur pulled away and led Alfred further into their home, towards the living room. "Would you like to help? I should probably get your input."

"My input?" asked a bewildered Alfred.

"Yes, look," said Arthur, sweeping his arm to encompass the living room and its new additions. "What do you think?" He let go of Alfred's hand and moved forward, stopping next to an open box and removing the teddy Alfred he had made.

"Wh-? Are those...? You brought your teddies?" Alfred stuttered. Arthur turned back to him and noticed his expression of shock – and was that horror? The younger man froze and stared back at Alfred, watching him carefully. "You brought... all of them?!"

"Uh huh." Arthur nodded, clutching the teddy bear tightly. "Is-Is that a problem?"

"Well, yeah. Where are we gonna put them all? We can't have _all_ of them. Especially if you're gonna buy more."

They stared at each other, Arthur's expression now mirroring Alfred's. "Do you want me to get rid of them?" Arthur whispered, his eyes slipping to the floor.

"Can't ya just leave them at home, honey? You could, I dunno, visit them or something."

"What's the point in that?" snapped Arthur, his gaze returning back to Alfred's face so suddenly that the other flinched. "These are-are for my enjoyment! Each one has a memory attached to them! I can't leave them with my parents! Besides which, they'd likely get rid of them all. Sell them off or donate them or-or something worse!"

"Artie..." murmured Alfred, taking a step towards him. However, Arthur flinched, his arms wrapping around the teddy protectively. "Listen. There's not enough room for them _all_. Maybe you _should_ donate them-"

The Brit exploded. "This is a part of me! Are you saying you don't like it?!"

"No, no!" cried Alfred, taking another step towards him. "That's not what I meant at all, Art! I love you, all of you, but-"

"But you want me to get rid of something that makes me who I am!"

"That's-! No! I didn't say that- Listen to me!" Alfred was snippy now.

Crossing his arms, Arthur glared at Alfred. "I heard you – you want me to choose between my precious teddy bears and living here."

Alfred paled. "No, never," he said, so quietly Arthur almost didn't catch it. "I just- Arthur, babe, you're smart but you're not thinking about this logically. Do they even _do_ anything? Do you cuddle all of them? Wouldn't it be better to give them to children who will take care of 'em and treat them just as well as you. Y'know, like Toy Story 3."

"I won't!" shouted Arthur, feeling himself tearing up. He strode to where he had placed his most precious one, the one Alfred had gotten him. It was pride of place on the mantelpiece. Lifting it, he turned back to Alfred, hugging it tightly. "These are all precious to me! They all have a place in my heart – and I can't live without them. Just like you can't live without that stupid XBox!"

"That's not the same!"

"It is!"

"It's not – you can talk to loads of people with the XBox and you can watch DVDs and stuff! You can't do that with teddy bears!"

"Y-You-! That's not the _point_!"

"But it is!" cried Alfred who looked near to tears himself. "An XBox is _actually useful_-" He stopped himself with a gasp, as if he knew it had been the wrong thing to say. And it certainly was.

"Fine!" cried Arthur, storming towards Alfred.

"What are you-?"

"If you can't- If you can't accept me like this, then- Then I can't stay here!" Arthur yelled, trying to stop himself from crying. He darted around Alfred before the American could stop him and paused at the doorway. "I-I _hate_ you!" he hissed back at Alfred, throwing the Alfred-teddy at him. It bounced harmlessly off his chest but Alfred still flinched. Finally, Arthur spun around and rushed from the flat, slamming the door behind him.

He turned up on his parents' doorstep, clutching his old teddy bear, bawling.

* * *

After crying till he ran out of tears, comforting from his mother, wise words from his father, a hearty breakfast and a good clean, Arthur was outside the door of his boyfriend's flat with the teddy bear under an arm. _His_ flat, he reminded himself. All he had to do was use _his_ key to unlock _his_ door so he could talk to _his_ boyfriend.

The only problem was that he wasn't sure he wanted a confrontation.

Admonishing himself, he took a deep breath and inserted his key. After unlocking the door and pushing it open, he was surprised to find Alfred standing in the hall, staring at him with wide eyes. Arthur froze.

Then, quite suddenly, Alfred rushed towards him and swept Arthur into his arms. Arthur heard a sob escape one of them as he buried his head into Alfred's shoulder, the bear falling to the floor. Words weren't needed – they knew they had both forgiven each other – but Alfred was chanting it into Arthur's ear and Arthur was clutching at him and whispering his own apology and Alfred was pulling him even closer.

Eventually, they disentangled themselves, shut the front door and made their way to the living room. Not much had changed in the few hours Arthur hadn't been there – the only noticeable difference was the empty boxes. Alfred had removed all the teddies and placed them in different spots: on the mantelpiece, the couch, the floor. The room was practically drowning in teddy bears.

"Er," he said. "I... I missed you."

"Ah," breathed Arthur, his heart swelling with happiness and love. "Well, I've been doing some thinking and-"

"Please don't leave!" cried Alfred, looking quite dismayed. "I really don't care if we're tripping over teddies every morning – I just want you here!"

Arthur stared at him for a moment, a blush forming. Slowly, a smile spread across his face and he chuckled softly. "Oh, Al. I'm not going to leave. I was... actually going to agree with you. We should donate all of these. Ah!" He spun round and hurried to the hall, scooping up the forgotten bear. "Except for this one, at least," he explained as he returned.

Once again, Alfred launched himself at Arthur. This time, he kissed the smaller man, hugged him tight and then let him go. "I have an awesome idea! Don't do anything! Wait here!" With a blur of motion, the front door slammed shut and Arthur was left to blink in confusion amongst his precious memories.

* * *

When Alfred finally returned, Arthur was seated on the floor amongst his teddies, hugging his earliest one tightly to his chest. The American hurried in, holding onto a large notebook of some sort.

"What's that?" asked Arthur. "You've been ages."

"Look!" Alfred held up the book so he could see the front cover. Large letters proclaimed it to be a scrapbook, little teddy bear illustrations decorating it.

"Um...?"

"I was thinking," continued Alfred, not acknowledging Arthur's confusion, "that what we should do, right, is take pictures of your bears. We'll keep a picture of all of them, but get rid of most of 'em." He came closer and knelt before Arthur, patting the bear he held. "You should keep this one 'cause you love it the most. And we'll the keep the rest in here." He brandished the book. "I just needta get my camera. Ah, and we could totally set them up to make little scenes and stuff. And then we take them to some kindergarten or something and give 'em to the kids there."

For a few moments, Arthur could only stare. How had he managed to end up with such a caring and thoughtful boyfriend? With a sudden bark of laughter, he threw his arms around Alfred and tugged him into a hug, kissing his cheek. "Thank you!" he cried, tightening his grip on his precious boyfriend.

"Anything for you, babe!"

By the end of the day, they had filled the scrapbook and packed away all of the teddies bar one – a well-worn teddy with a stars and stripes ribbon.

* * *

After they had taken the teddy bears to several different establishments, Arthur thought that the flat seemed a little empty.

* * *

Bemoaning the fact that he had had to go in to college while Alfred had his day off, Arthur trudged up the stairs to their flat. If they had both been off, they could have gone out together or even snuggled on the couch, watching a film. Well, maybe they could finish off the day like that; but the orientation had been tedious and had Arthur wishing to be back home.

He opened the door and made sure to close and lock it – it was unlikely they would be going back out again. "Al?" he called, unsure why his boyfriend hadn't come to meet him in the hall as usual. "Where are you?"

"Living room!" came the reply. "But... Close your eyes on the way in!"

"Huh?" Arthur moved to the door. "What are you talking-?"

"Just-! Do it. Please?"

"Tsk. Fine," sighed Arthur, closing his eyes before entering the room. Instantly, he felt Alfred at his side, guiding him somewhere. He was lowered into the couch and Alfred's hands left him: Arthur pouted at the loss of his boyfriend. "What's going on?" he asked.

Before Alfred could answer, Arthur heard a sound he had never heard in the flat before. It sounded like a meow. Like a cat. His eyes flew open and he looked round, Alfred wincing and pouting at the loss of his surprise. Arthur glanced to the floor and found the source.

Two cats sat there, both gazing up at him. One was orange and white, his ears flat against his head, green eyes aloof and almost glaring. The other was significantly larger, thick fur around his neck giving the appearance of a mane. He even had little marks around his eyes as though he was wearing glasses.

"I was totally only gonna get one 'cause, I thought, well, you're missing all your teddies and I thought we could get a pet you could cuddle and we could name it Teddy. So I went to an animal shelter and saw that one" - he pointed at the haughty one - "and thought it was perfect. I mean, look at those eyes; just as pretty as yours. But, when I picked him up, the other one leapt at me and he started squirming and so I got the two of them. We can call one of 'em Teddy and the other Bear. And Teddy can be short for Theodore. What d'ya think?"

Arthur stared at him for a moment. "But... How much did they cost? And we have to buy all the things-"

"Nah, don't worry 'bout that. We used to have a cat – the years you weren't here – and we just stored all the cat stuff in the attic after it managed to get itself run over." Alfred grinned. "C'mon. I know you think they're both cute."

"Sh-Shut-" began Arthur but he stopped and looked back at the cats, brow furrowed in thought. Hesitantly, he held his hand out. Instantly, the haughty cat moved forward and butted it with his head. "Hello, Teddy," Arthur murmured.

"Well?"

"You spoil me too much," said Arthur, smiling as Bear demanded his attention. "Once we've got these two settled in, I should give _you_ a present."

Alfred's eyes twinkled merrily as they gazed at each other. "I can't wait."

* * *

_**Seriously, Alfred is so nice in this universe. What the heck?  
**_

_**Yeah, so, I briefly had a thought the other night that I really needed to get rid of some of my own teddies (I won't do it - I forget to do so much stuff and sorting through them for the less important teddies is too much work) and then my brain - as brains are wont to do at night when you're trying to sleep - flicked over to "Hey! You could write a fan fiction!" So, Arthur having to get rid of the teddies was my idea - and then I thought that he'd be really upset. So I introduced their cats! :) (And the scrapbook.)**_

_**Arthur seems like such a baby in this. But he is only 18 here while Alfred is 19 and has been living on his own for a year and knows the values of space and needs and suchlike.**_

_**I don't have an XBox but my friends do and I'm pretty sure you can talk to people on it?**_

_**Sorry if the argument was really lame - I can't seem to be able to write them very well. And I didn't want to make it **_**too _harsh and awful... Not for this universe._  
**

**_Teddy and Bear - I'm so clever at naming things. ^^" (Someone save those poor cats.)  
_**

**_Ah! The title of the chapter is supposed to be a play on "Too many cooks spoil the broth"._**


	4. Building Bears

_**This was supposed to be finished! But... Urgh. I was thinking about what I needed to do to tidy/sort through things I don't need in my room and my mind wandered to my teddy which was a gift that someone got made in the Build-a-Bear Factory place and... This happened.**_

* * *

It was an accident, pure and simple. Arthur couldn't kill him over this. But he would. Oh, he would. Because this was precious to him, almost as precious as the other one.

Alfred had decided to clean the apartment in preparation for his boyfriend's return home. The older man had a day off from college and work whilst Arthur still had to traipse in for lectures from nine until five. He had decided to start in the living room with a duster, reaching up into high places which Arthur couldn't reach. Bear had been weaving around his legs looking for attention and Teddy had been sitting in his usual spot on Arthur's armchair.

When he got to the mantelpiece, he had to remove the few teddies that Arthur had kept and displayed proudly. One was the original teddy that Alfred had given him. Another was a gift from his grandmother she had given him shortly before he died when he was seven. The last was the one they had taken to calling 'Alfreddy'; the one made to look like Alfred himself.

Once he had cleaned there, he turned to the couch where he had put the teddies only to find Bear leaning on Alfreddy. Chuckling, Alfred gathered up the other two and replaced them before trying to gently remove the last one from Bear's grip. Unfortunately, the large cat seemed to think that he was trying to play a game and dug his claws in.

"Ah! No, no, no, no! Don't do that! Let go, Bear!" cried Alfred, doing his best to remove the cat as gently as possible. But Bear would have none of it and the horrifying ripping sound echoed throughout the apartment.

Poor Alfred could only stare at the now detached arm and the grinning teddy bear that Bear had promptly abandoned to bother Teddy instead.

"Oh, crap... What am I gonna do?!" Alfred sat on the floor clutching a duster in one hand and the mauled toy in the other. Arthur had made this one himself, poured all his love and effort into it and now he had gone and ruined it by putting it in the cats' reach. Not only that, but Alfred couldn't sew to save his life. If he tried to fix it before Arthur came home, the Brit would be furious when he noticed the lopsided thing.

What could he do? Make another one? But, again, the problem with the sewing...

And then it hit him.

Quickly, he made sure the cats had enough food and water before grabbing a picture of Alfreddy and hurrying out of the apartment. Hopefully he could get his idea done before Arthur got home.

* * *

Alfred remembered going into this shop when he was a kid. However, it was all fuzzy and vague, only the impressions of glee and excitement and a teddy bear at the end of it (which he had donated when he hit puberty). Now that he was going into it for the first time in years, he had no idea what he was supposed to do.

So all he _could_ do was walk up to the first assistant who was free, rows upon rows and piles upon piles of teddies staring at him. "Excuse me, miss. Could you maybe help me?"

"Sure thing!" said the blonde who looked extremely cheerful. "Well, first thing's first: what colour of teddy would your kid would like?"

"Ah, eh..." Alfred blushed a little and dug his hand into the pocket of his favourite jacket to find the photograph. "I... I actually need to get one that looks like this," he explained as he handed it over. "For my boyfriend."

"Oh?" The woman didn't even blink. "That's very sweet of you, but..."

"The cat got it."

"That's awful," sighed the woman, her smile transforming into a grimace. "Is he a collector?"

"Er, something like that. But he made this one himself, though, and it's very important to him. So, um, if I could get something close to it, maybe he won't be as upset?"

"Okay dokey!" she said, grin returning. "Let's find the best teddy for him, hm?"

"All right," Alfred agreed and followed her to a wall were several bits of teddy-shaped fabrics were lined up. They both walked up and down, looking for something a similar colour to Alfreddy. Finally, they had to give up and take something a shade lighter.

Before they could turn away to the next station, though, Alfred spotted a familiar colour nestled beside the one they had picked. He grabbed it as well and looked sheepishly at the kind woman helping him. She nodded to his unasked question and he beamed at her. In case Arthur didn't like his new Alfreddy, Alfred wanted to make sure he got a proper apology bear.

"Do you want to put a recording in it?" asked his bear maker.

"A... recording?" Alfred blinked, a little confused.

"Yeah, you can record whatever you want and it'll play whenever you press the paw."

"Oh, that's cool!" Alfred looked at the microphone and thought about what to put into the new Alfreddy. Maybe he could say sorry. But then, every time afterwards, Arthur would hear the apology and remember the dismemberment of the original Alfreddy. It would be best to say something general but heartfelt. Finally, he nodded to the assistant who pressed a button and he leaned forward. "I love you," he said as clearly as possible.

As soon as the assistant's finger had been removed from the button she squealed as quietly as she could. "Oh, that's just so cute!" she cried, grinning. Alfred felt his blush return and made sure his gaze was fixed on the teddy-in-progress. When she had eventually calmed down, she cleared her throat and asked him, "Would you like to record something in the second one?"

Thinking about that, Alfred shrugged. "Can you put music in it?" he asked, not entirely hopeful.

"There are a few tunes, yes. Just press one of these and make your choice." She pointed at the array of buttons around the microphone and Alfred inspected them.

After around five minutes of pressing buttons and listening to jingles over and over again, he decided on one called 'Magic'. The music sounded calming and happy and, coupled with the name, Alfred had a feeling Arthur would adore it.

Moving onto the next station, Alfred could only watch as the kind employee stuffed both bears. She even handed it over to Alfred for test hugs. Although he wouldn't normally have bothered, for Arthur he decided that he didn't care if the few children and parents in the shop would stare at him. He deemed them both suitable and handed them back.

"Well, now you choose a heart," said the woman and Alfred stared.

"A what?"

Giggling, the woman swept her hand over a container full of little felt hearts. "All of our bears have hearts. You don't _need_ one, of course. But you can."

"Oh, okay." Once more, Alfred found himself peering at his choices, trying to make the right decision. He eventually settled on a rather large pink one for the Alfreddy – because he had a big heart and he knew it – before picking up a smaller, bright red one for the other. This wasn't because he considered the other teddy to have less to give: Alfred liked to think that the red meant that it was filled to the brim with love. Sneaking a quick kiss to the red heart as the woman helpfully pushed the heart inside Alfreddy, he handed it over for the same treatment.

Finally, both teddies were stitched up, named and dressed with some specific instructions and requirements from Alfred. He paid for both and thanked the lovely woman who had helped him. "No problem," was her reply. "I hope your boyfriend accepts your apology."

* * *

Alfred was relieved that he got home before Arthur. He checked up on the cats who were both sleeping peacefully on Arthur's chair. Then he made sure that the original Alfreddy was tucked away under the couch and the new teddies close at hand. Afterwards, he sent Arthur a message asking what he wanted for dinner before busying himself in the kitchen.

When he heard the door finally open, he willed his heart to calm down. Arthur didn't know yet so he just had to act like everything was normal. Quickly, he hurried to the door but, once again, Teddy beat him to it.

"Hello, Theodore, old boy," said Arthur with a broad smile, bending down to stroke at the cat's fur. "Have you been good to Al?"

The aforementioned Al pouted. "Why does he like you more than me?"

Grinning up at him, Arthur shrugged. "We're kindred spirits. Now," he added as he straightened up and began to remove his coat and shoes. "You said something about lasagne?"

"Yup!" said Alfred, as cheerfully as he could with the guilt still weighing down on him. "Almost done, honey. Now, come over here and give me a kiss."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Someone's eager for attention. Did you get bored without me?" he asked with a smirk, closing the distance between them and playing with the strap of Alfred's apron.

"No way!" cried Alfred rather quickly. "Played games all day. But I _did _miss you, 'course."

"Of course," agreed Arthur before pressing his lips to Alfred's in a sweet kiss. "Now, I'm exhausted so I'm going to find Bear."

"Er, okay..." said Alfred, nervously, watching Arthur make his way into the living room with Teddy at his heels.

It took a few more minutes – when the lasagne had been removed from the oven – for Arthur to come into the kitchen with a frown on his face. "Alfred...?"

"Yeah?"

"Where's Alfreddy?"

"Um, well..." Alfred set the dish on the kitchen table and hurried through to the living room. "Now, don't freak out, but..." He sighed and knelt on the floor, grabbing the ruined teddy. "I-I was cleaning and I put the teddies down on the couch for _literally_ a couple of seconds but Bear got his claws in him and wouldn't let go and then..." He showed Arthur the bear. Watching him, he noticed Arthur's expression shift from confused to annoyed and the Englishman opened his mouth, probably to berate him. Quickly, he continued on, setting the bear on the sofa. "Don't freak, though! Look, I got you this." Bringing one of the two boxes he had been given at the store, he pulled out Alfreddy. "His name's Alfreddy and, I know he doesn't look exactly like him, but..." He squeezed the paw and the words 'I love you' came tumbling from it even as he looked up at his boyfriend with large, sad, _pleading_ eyes.

His boyfriend blinked a few times before sighing and running a hand through his hair. "Darling," he said and Alfred knew that _that_ tone of voice meant he was exasperated with him. So he quickly pulled round the other box.

"Wait! I also got this!" Carefully, he pulled the other teddy from its holder and showed it to him. The fur was the colour of soft sunlight hitting straw in a barn – just like Arthur's hair. He had wheedled his way into getting green gems for the eyes – not a patch on Arthur's brilliant eyes but a close match. It was wearing a forest green cardigan and a little pair of black trousers and smart shoes. Above its eyes were little black patches of felt to mimic Arthur's sweet eyebrows. "He's called Arteddy." And Alfred grinned at him as sheepishly as he could.

For several agonising minutes, Arthur stared at the teddy and him in shock. Then, suddenly, he chuckled. "Oh, my dear. Sometimes you can be so, so silly."

"Huh?"

Stepping over the cats who were mewing at the teddies, Arthur came to kneel beside Alfred. He carefully removed the teddy from his possession and laid it on the couch before holding Alfred's hands in his. "Darling, I _made_ Alfreddy. I can still fix him. There was no need to buy me a new one."

"Oh." Why hadn't Alfred thought of that? "I-I guess I just panicked, is all."

"Yes, I rather gathered that, love. But... You even bought a matching teddy, too. Thank you." And Arthur looked at him with such love that Alfred felt his heart leap up and dance. With a quick peck, Arthur stood again and took the teddies, leaving the original Alfreddy beside his sewing kit in the cabinet. Then he arranged the other two on the mantelpiece, making sure they were side by side. Eventually, he turned back to Alfred and put his hands on his hips. "Now, I would give you a present to thank you for this but I'm afraid that I am rather hungry and would like to eat."

"Present?" asked Alfred, perking up.

Arthur sighed. "Dear, how many times have I told you that – the answer is always the same."

It took Alfred a couple of seconds to understand but, as they re-entered the kitchen, he said, "_Oh_."

* * *

_**I have to point out that the last time I was in a Build-a-Bear place, I didn't actually buy a bear nor watched any getting made. Everything in this is what I could glean from their website. I have no idea how they get the recordings to play or what sort of pre-recorded things they can put in it. I don't know if you can pick particular eye colours or whatever.  
**_

_**I had, like, a list of things to say but I've forgotten them all. I think the main thing was a rant about how cute this is and why/how the heck it managed to come from my brain. **_

_**But, well, the other main thing is that there will be a next part which came about because I was thinking of this part so much. (I'm calling them parts because they're not really chapters... There's no storyline. I'm thinking of changing the description of this "story", too.)**_


	5. Bear-Faced Jealousy

_**I think this chapter came about by thinking that it'd be great if Arthur found a craft club or something at college and joined so he could make teddies. And then...**_

* * *

"C'mon, Gil! Get that jerk already!" cried Alfred into his microphone, frowning at the screen. One of the cats brushed against him and he absent-mindedly patted at its head before returning to the controller. "Seriously, Gil, I'm getting screwed over here!"

A familiar laugh sounded in his ear, through the static of the headphones. "I'm a-coming. Don't bitch so much, Al."

"Yeah, well- Argh! Dammit!" Alfred sighed heavily into the mic. "I died."

"What? How crap are you at this game?"

"I'm not, I-" Alfred stopped as he heard the front door open. "Ah! BRB, gotta go see the BF."

"_So_ did not need to hear that-" Alfred managed to hear as he pulled the headphones off and tossed them to the ground. Hurriedly, he got to his feet and followed Teddy and Bear to the hall.

Arthur was hanging up his coat and placing his shoes to the side as the procession reached him. "Oh? I get the whole hog today, huh?" he asked with a smile.

"Anything for you, sweetheart," sang Alfred as he skipped forward to give him a peck on the cheek. "I'll leave you with the cats – got a co-op going on with Gil."

"_Again_?" sighed Arthur, frowning now.

"Yeah. Sorry, babe. We've nearly finished this map."

Cutely, Arthur pouted, though he tried to hide it. "Well, what about dinner?"

"I dunno. Order in?" Alfred pecked Arthur's other cheek and hurried off.

* * *

One day, at the start of November, Arthur came home seeming rather excited. "Hey, babe," said Alfred when he greeted him, giving him a kiss on the lips. "I ordered in some pizza 'cause we totally needta go grocery shopping. Did something good happen?"

His boyfriend grinned. "Something _fantastic_ happened!" he cried, throwing his arms around Alfred and drawing him into a deeper kiss. The American let out a small noise in surprise but eagerly kissed back. When Arthur released him, he was still beaming. "Aside the fact that I got a eighty-seven percent in one of my assignments, _I_ have discovered the existence of a craft club at college!"

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I can go and make bears and show them to everyone and-! I'm just so excited!" Arthur reached up and kissed him once more. "I want to make one to take in as well as my Alfreddy so I'll be starting on that after we've eaten."

"Aww!" whined Alfred with a pout. "But I wanted to watch a movie and cuddle with you tonight!"

"Sorry, love. Maybe tomorrow, if I'm finished by then." He grinned, kissed Alfred one more time and spun away, snatching up Teddy as he went. Bear followed them and Arthur chattered away to them about behaving themselves while he was working. Alfred watched him go, his pout fading as he smiled warmly.

It was good that Arthur had found something to do with his time again: he had been getting a little annoyed with the sighs in his ear when he played his games. Although, he sincerely hoped they wouldn't end up with loads more teddies lying around the apartment...

* * *

A week later, Alfred was actually working on an assignment at the kitchen table when the front door opened. Smiling at the welcome interruption, he stood and made his way to the door. As he approached, he heard voices and, when he reached the hallway, he found his boyfriend fussing around an Asian man.

"I'm terribly sorry for not having green tea. I'll make sure there's some next time. Is there anything else you would like?"

"How about a milkshake?" suggested Alfred, curious as to who this guy was. Arthur jumped and turned, smiling when he spotted Alfred.

"Ah, you're home. Good evening, love," he said and gave Alfred a (very quick) peck on the cheek. "This is Kiku, a friend from the Craft Club. Kiku, this is Alfred – my boyfriend."

"Hello, Alfred-san," said Kiku, politely, bowing slightly.

"Hey. Nice to meetcha!" Alfred grinned widely at Kiku before turning to Arthur when his arms wrapped around his waist.

"Alfred, dear... Kiku is here to help me with my teddies for the club. And he happens to prefer green to black tea – which is what I normally drink. Is there any chance you can be sweet and lovely and go out to get some?" Arthur looked up at Alfred with a slight pout to which Alfred couldn't say no.

"Sure thing, honey!" he announced with a grin. "I'm in the kitchen, by the way. Got an assignment to finish. I'll see you when I get back, yeah?"

"Definitely," agreed Arthur as he helped Alfred shrug on a coat and slip on his shoes. "Then we shall be in the living room when you get back."

Flashing one last happy grin at Arthur, Alfred left to go to the store, hoping it wouldn't take too long to find the required tea.

* * *

When Alfred finally returned, he found both men poring over sheets of paper. Kiku had a pencil in hand and a case of coloured ones beside him. Arthur had his sewing things out and material strewn across the rest of the couch. Teddy and Bear were curled up on the armchair.

"Hey," said Alfred to announce his arrival.

"'Lo, love," said Arthur, distractedly. "That is quite a lovely design Kiku. I'm not sure I'll be able to make it, though..." He sounded uncertain and Alfred opened his mouth to reassure him.

Kiku beat him to it. "Arthur-kun, I am sure you will be absolutely fine – your bears are magnificent, after all."

"Er, do ya want me to make your tea?" asked Alfred, trying to gain Arthur's attention.

His boyfriend looked up at him with a smile. "Oh, would you? That would be lovely." And, with that, he turned back to Kiku. "So that would be what shade of pink, exactly?" he asked, pointing to something on a piece of paper.

Frowning, Alfred turned back to the kitchen to take care of his task.

* * *

It was nearing Thanksgiving when Alfred noted that something had changed between him and Arthur. Before, they had spent a lot of time with each other, whispering sweet nothings and kissing and laughing and cuddling and going to bed together. Now, though, they hardly seemed to spend any time with each other.

True, half of the time, they were busy with college work. A quarter of the time, though, Arthur spent at his club or making teddies for it. The rest of the time was fleeting and most of it was spent sleeping. And they didn't cuddle while they slept any more, both coming to bed at different times and not wanting to wake the other.

What was worse was the fact that Arthur was spending more and more time with Kiku and, whenever Alfred called to ask where he was, most of the time he would be with the exchange student. And he hated the days when Arthur would drag Kiku back to their apartment.

That was happening right now as he tried to focus on his co-op with Gil. Alfred sat on the floor with his back against the couch, right under where Arthur was sitting cross-legged. Beside him, Kiku sat with his papers and designs and pencils, pointing out all the details to Arthur. Meanwhile, Arthur was making one of the drawings come to life in his hands. It was impressive but still annoyed Alfred who was trying his best not to focus on how close Kiku and Arthur were sitting, their heads bowed together.

"Yo, Al," said Gil's voice.

"Yeah?" answered Alfred, shaking himself from his reverie.

"Focus, man. You're not getting distracted by your boyfriend, are you? Because I will not be responsible for your death if he's sitting on your lap or something."

"I wish," grumbled Alfred.

"Aw, are you two having a domestic?"

"Shut it," Alfred growled, garnering Arthur's attention.

"Everything all right, love?" he asked, the pet name making Alfred feel warm and sad.

"Yeah," Alfred answered. "Gil's just being a douche."

"Hey!" came his friend's voice.

"As usual, hm?" said Arthur with a chuckle. And then he returned his attention to Kiku and the teddy bear.

Alfred gritted his teeth and jabbed at his controller more viciously than before.

* * *

Since Arthur's parents didn't celebrate Thanksgiving, Alfred was taking Arthur home to his own family. A few days beforehand, while Alfred was making some pigs in blankets to take with them, Arthur returned to the apartment. For the past week, Alfred had barely seen him and he rushed to the hall, holding his breath. Would Kiku be there?

Thankfully, he wasn't, but Arthur seemed distracted as he took off his coat and shoes, only nudging the cats as they came to see him. "Hi, dear," he said as he struggled with his bag, obviously trying to remove something. Frowning, Alfred followed him into the living room where he put down the bag and began to pull something out.

"Are you okay?" asked Alfred, worried. Had something bad happened? Had he got a bad grade? Had Kiku been a jerk like Alfred had been hoping he would be?

"Just a little tired," Arthur answered him as he stifled a yawn. As he did so, Alfred glanced at the papers in his hands. Kiku's designs. And there were a lot of them.

He frowned. "Are you gonna be doing _that_ again?" he demanded, glaring at Arthur.

Looking up in surprise, Arthur frowned as well. "Well, yes. Kiku and I have been thinking about selling them. You know, starting a business and-"

"Where do _I_ come into your plans?" Alfred snapped, shocking Arthur more.

"What? You're my boyfriend. I plan to keep you around for a while yet, you know."

"Well, I don't feel like it."

"Don't feel like what?"

"Your boyfriend. I don't feel like I am. You've hardly paid me any sort of attention for ages!"

For a moment, Arthur looked both confused and hurt. Then his gaze steeled and he glared at Alfred. "I've just been busy. I thought _you_, of all people, could understand that!"

"How could I? I don't let _my _obsessions interfere with-with us!"

"Yes you do!" roared Arthur, his fists clenching.

"What?"

"Your stupid video games! You're always playing them! I thought you'd be happy for me, finding something to do since you couldn't bring yourself to pay attention to _me_ instead of Gilbert! And I managed to make a friend – you don't seem to realise how little of them I have. Kiku is just as important in my life as my family and all you do is sit and glare at him! I don't do that when Gil is here!"

By this point, there were tears gathering at the corners of Arthur's eyes. Alfred was holding his breath, startled by the admission. It certainly sounded, from Arthur's point of view, that Alfred had been spending too much time with Gilbert and not enough with Arthur. Now that he thought about it, before the Craft Club, there were often times when Arthur would go to bed on his own because Alfred was too busy gaming.

Guilt clenched at Alfred's heart and he tried desperately not to cry either. "I-I'm sorry," he choked out, staring at Arthur miserably. "I just- You were spending so much time with Kiku that I thought you might... well... leave me."

"You were jealous of Kiku?" Arthur looked at him in surprise.

"Yeah..." Alfred was blushing and tried not to look at Arthur. He found himself staring at a disapproving Arteddy instead.

"Oh, Al. I'm sorry. I mean, I knew you were jealous but I thought it was how I felt with your video games. I wasn't jealous of Gil – but I was jealous of the time it took up." Alfred looked back at Arthur then and found him smiling softly. He held his arms out and Alfred rushed forward to sweep him up and cling to him.

"I'm sorry," Alfred mumbled into Arthur's hair. "You were there all the time and I knew you wouldn't leave so I guess I just took you for granted. I promise I won't any more."

"Mm," agreed Arthur. "But don't let me stop you from doing the things you enjoy. Perhaps... Maybe you could... _limit_ the amount of time you spend on the games?" He pulled away slightly so he could look at Alfred. "And I'll limit the time I spend on the teddy bears."

Alfred nodded. "Are you still going to try selling them?"

"I hope so. It would be delightful to know they are being played with. Kiku said he can set up some sort of shop online."

"Really? Wow, I'm proud of you!" Alfred grinned down at Arthur and stole his well-deserved welcome home kiss.

When they pulled apart, Arthur was smiling happily. "Now, what were you doing in the kitchen?"

"Crap! The food!" Alfred darted from the living room and into the kitchen, saving the precious pigs in blankets from burning. When he removed the tray from the oven, he turned to find Arthur hovering behind him. "For Thanksgiving. I was gonna chill 'em."

"Ah, I see. Need any help? I'd like to spend some time with you now, if that's okay." Arthur had a faint blush as he spoke, smiling happily at Alfred. It was the cutest thing that Alfred had seen in a while and he almost dropped what he was holding. He hastily put it down and nodded.

"You're amazing," Alfred murmured once Arthur was close enough. The Brit laughed. "Honest."

"So are you. Although... Has it occurred to you that, every time we argue, teddy bears are involved somehow?" Arthur grinned at him and Alfred laughed in response.

"Well, now it has. How are we going to solve that problem?"

Arthur thought about it for a moment before snaking his arms around Alfred's waist. "I think I'll just make sure to cuddle my favourite teddy every day."

"Which one's that?"

Sighing in exasperation, Arthur tugged Alfred closer and rested his head on his shoulder. "You, you big lump."

* * *

_**This... seems angsty at first glance but now I realise there's too much fluff. Argh. I'm dying here from the sweetness leaking from my head...  
**_

_**Anyways, the way this happened was: thought it'd be cool for Artie to join a craft club but then thought that he'd spend too much time with that and Al would get jealous. Then I had the idea that Arthur was jealous to begin with because he was spending too much time gaming. (At first, it was gonna be revenge but then I thought better of it.) Kiku was chosen to be the friend getting too close to Arthur because... well... I like AsaKiku. And, also, in afterthought, I realised Kiku drawing the designs would fit, as well as doing the online shop thing.**_

_**There was going to be an extra bit where they were cuddling in bed and discussing it and whatnot which led to the creation of TWO MORE CHAPTERS which I will get onto right away.**_

_**The whole realising they only fight about teddies thing is... actually a bit of myself coming in there. But I didn't know how to finish this part and that flowed out of me. Which makes up for the fact that Arthur was supposed to call Alfred the most important teddy bear/he already had an Alfreddy in Alfred in the last chapter but it didn't flow. Huzzah for my brain doing this weird but still working with me. Nailed it.**_

_**EDIT: Dammit! I knew I forgot something. When Arthur says Kiku is as important as family, he means that. But Alfred is much, much, much more important to him. (In the months he's been living with Alfred, he's not actually spoken to his family once and won't till Christmas. Been too busy.)**_


	6. Bear With Me

_**Time skip!**_

_**This is set three years after the end of the next part. So Alfred's now in a well paid job (which I haven't decided on the nature of but it's not really important at this point) and Arthur's just finishing up his last year. I thought I'd point this out now instead of people getting confused, though it is rather alluded to. I'm not sure what's obvious to me because I know it or what's just plain obvious.**_

* * *

Alfred was waiting for him as Arthur emerged from his exam hall. He was leaning against his car, wearing a smart suit (which appeared to be freshly pressed) and holding a bouquet of different coloured roses. It must have cost a lot but, with his job, Alfred was making quite a bit. Arthur felt a little out of place, considering he was wearing a pair of jeans and a Doctor Who t-shirt.

Once he had rushed up to him, Alfred gave Arthur a peck on the cheek and handed over the bouquet. "Welcome to the 'real world'," he said with a grin.

"Glad to be here," Arthur replied with a smile. "Now, why are you dressed up?"

"What? A guy can't dress to impress his boyfriend?"

"Not you," replied Arthur with a smirk. Predictably, Alfred pouted. "I expect we're going somewhere?"

"Yeah. Out for dinner." Alfred grinned and opened the passenger door. "C'mon. I've got reservations and stuff."

"Reservations?" Arthur blinked at him, unmoving. "But what about me?"

"Hm?"

"I don't have any smart clothes."

"Don't worry," said Alfred. "I've got something for you to get changed into."

"You've certainly put a lot of thought into this," Arthur commented as he finally got into the car.

"Of course, sweetheart."

* * *

Still grumbling about getting changed in the back of the car while Alfred kept watch, Arthur followed his boyfriend into a rather nice-looking restaurant. There was a maître d' and several sets of cutlery laid out and a single red rose in a silver vase and the light was at a nice level so he could actually see Alfred without squinting or being blinded. He even found a wine list which he perused for a while. When he glanced up at Alfred, unsure whether he should pick one, the American told him that he was paying for everything and not to worry. After a brief argument against this, Arthur conceded and picked what he knew would be a fairly cheap but still good quality wine and handed the book to the waiter before picking up his menu.

He nearly had a heart attack.

Everything was far more expensive than any restaurant they had ever eaten in before and he simply stared at the starters. It took him a few seconds to realise that Alfred was speaking to him.

"You okay?" he was asking once Arthur had shaken himself from the shock.

"Alfred, this is much too expensive. You can't pay for all of this! In fact, ask them to take back that wine-"

"No, Artie," Alfred firmly interrupted him. "Listen, it's okay. This is for you. Today is all about you. Don't worry about a thing, all right? Just relax."

"But-"

"You've been stressed all week. Please. Just let me do this one thing."

Arthur hummed in disapproval but scanned the menu, deliberately choosing the less expensive options. Alfred seemed to notice but didn't say anything. In fact, he was starting to fidget a little. Wondering what was wrong, Arthur took a calming sip of his wine and let Alfred talk to him about all kinds of inane and interesting things. Hopefully, that would help Alfred's nervousness. And, he supposed, he _did_ deserve to relax a little.

* * *

After the marvellous meal, Alfred insisted they go back to the flat to relax. Not that Arthur wanted anything different. His exams had really taken it out of him and he was getting quite tired: an evening spent watching a film or his partner blow up zombies while he cuddled into him sounded lovely.

So they drove home and, when they reached the apartment, they used the lift, Arthur monopolising the privacy as an excuse to thank Alfred for taking him out to such a nice place with kisses and hugs. Then they reached their front door and Alfred stopped. Now he looked extremely nervous and was hopping from foot to foot, still grinning in a semblance of normality. But Arthur could see a bead of sweat slowly make its way down his forehead.

"What have you done?" he demanded, with narrowed eyes.

"N-Nothing," was the response though Alfred didn't look him in the eye. "Are ya gonna go in or not?"

Glaring at him for a moment longer, Arthur conceded and unlocked the door. Alfred promptly took Arthur's suit jacket from him and hung it up. It was a rather gentlemanly act which was unexpected and rather dashing. Though still odd – in the corridor, he had seemed nervous, yet now he seemed in a hurry to get in.

The cats came to greet them as they always did. And, again, something was strange. They came from the kitchen when they usually appeared from the vicinity of his armchair. This was because the door to the living room had been closed tightly as he noticed when he moved further into the apartment.

"Alfred...?" he asked slowly.

"Yeah?"

"Why did you close the living room door?"

"Oh. Oops," replied Alfred, looking equal terms unconcerned and antsy.

"Right," said Arthur and opened the door himself. Perhaps he would find his answers here.

There was nothing out of the ordinary in the living room at first glance. All his precious teddies were on the mantelpiece. His sewing kit was sitting high on the cabinet where he always put it, out of the reach and interest of the cats. The TV appeared to be intact and the bookshelves were still as full as before. Couches sat where they always had, a new teddy bear rested atop the coffee table, the coasters were still in place...

Arthur blinked and looked closer at the teddy bear.

It was made from white material and had shiny black eyes. Patches had been sewn into its ears and paws. A little black bowtie was tied around its neck. In its hand it held a small black box.

"Wha...? Al, what's this for?" he asked, even as he gravitated towards it as he always did with the cute toys. Kneeling down in front of it for a better look, he glanced over his shoulder. Alfred was watching him, a nervous grin still firmly in place. Confused, he looked back and ran his eyes over the bear as closely as possible.

The workmanship wasn't perfect nor professional and Arthur could tell that it had been made by hand rather than machine. Glue kept the box attached to it and the excess had not been cleaned too well; in fact, Arthur was sure he could see a tiny piece of paper towel stuck between the box and the paws. The box itself was nondescript and small enough to be the sort used to store a ring.

At that thought, he glanced back over his shoulder with wide eyes. His boyfriend was watching him out of the corner of his eyes as he tried to keep the cats at bay. He gave a slight nod and Arthur returned his attention to the box. Taking a deep breath, he opened it.

Inside, as he had guessed, was a gold ring adorned with a single emerald.

He couldn't help himself: he gasped.

There was movement behind him and he spun round to find Alfred on his knees behind him. "Ah, er," the nervous American said. "I- Well, I had to ask someone for help making the bear but I glued the box on myself and I helped a lot and stuff. I think Kiku had watched you so many times he had a rough idea of how to do it. But yours are way better. And, like, I decided on white 'cause, well, weddings with white roses but this is just the proposal so maybe I shoulda made it a different colour. But red woulda been stupid and awful and I thought about green but that'd be weird or blue and, uh... What I mean is..." Alfred forced himself to stop and take a deep breath. "Arthur Kirkland. Sweetheart. Will you marry me?"

And all Arthur could do was stare into those blue eyes as he struggled to breathe and his heart beat too fast and his vision began to blur. Looking back at the ring, he bit his lip to make himself focus and answer. It was just one simple word. But he couldn't breathe and he couldn't speak.

"Honey?" And now Alfred was upset, his confidence slipping, worry clear in his tone.

So Arthur did something he considered rather unromantic. He grabbed the ring and shoved it onto his finger, where it fit perfectly. As soon as it was on, glinting under the light, he could breathe again. "Yes," he whispered. Then he lost his breath once more as Alfred squeezed him in one of his signature hugs. Arthur laughed and clung to him, tears falling down his cheeks, his happiness unable to be contained. When they finally pulled away, Alfred surveyed his face for a moment before laughing loudly and leaning in to kiss at his wet cheeks. Arthur kissed back, kissing anything in his reach.

Suddenly, Alfred rose and held out his hand to Arthur. Once Arthur was on his feet, Alfred kissed him deeply and began to tug at him, leading him to the bedroom. He gave up when he walked into the door frame and let go of Arthur's lips with a gasp. All Arthur could do was giggle, still feeling rather giddy.

"I love you," he said.

Alfred looked startled for a moment but he grinned and pecked Arthur's cheek. "Love you, too. Now, c'mon. We've got a bed waiting for us!"

* * *

"May I ask, though," began Arthur as they were watching an action film later that evening, "why you didn't propose in the restaurant?"

Alfred drew him closer, wrapping the blankets tighter around them. Despite being only dressed in boxers, Arthur was warm, comfortable and happy; especially when he caught a glimpse of his ring. He snuggled into his _fiancé_ and waited for his answer.

Finally, once a round of explosions and the car chase had finished, Alfred smiled and turned to him, kissing the top of his head. He spoke into Arthur's hair; Arthur could feel as well as hear his gentle words. "I thought you would be embarrassed with the teddy bear."

"Firstly, I would not have been embarrassed about the teddy bear, considering the circumstances. Secondly, you didn't need the teddy."

"Well, our relationship sorta started with a teddy – thought I'd bring it full circle. Symbolism of how we would always have ended up like this, no matter what. Or something like that. I mean, it just _felt _right, y'know?"

Arthur suddenly felt a lot warmer than he had before and he knew he was blushing. "I-Idiot. You could have just proposed normally – I would have said yes either way."

"But aren't you happier with it being this way?"

As the main character of the film faced off with some goons, Arthur gave it some thought. It didn't take long for him to come up with an answer, though.

"I'm always happy with you, dolt."

* * *

_**I'm not sure whether to grimace with that cheesy/sweet/cute/whatever ending line or go "Awwww! ^_^ "  
**_

_**This came about because, as I said, there was going to be an extra part to the last "chapter" where they were talking about how they were like an old married couple, arguing over stupid things like teddy bears. Then my brain switched gears without my permission and stalled while I muttered "No, no, come on, not now" to myself. (I'm pretty sure I groaned in dismay so it was a good thing this occurred as I was alone, washing dishes.)**_

_**Alfred is now friends with Kiku, too. And Arthur goes out drinking with Gil sometimes as well, when Alfred is busy/can't be bothered/sleeping.**_

_**I chose gold and emerald because, frankly, it looked better than silver. And I wanted emerald instead of a common diamond. If you know what I mean about being a common diamond.**_

_**One more part to go. Hopefully.**_


	7. I Pledge You, My Bear

_**Last chapter! I hope.  
**_

_**(I don't think this is as cute as the other chapters but that may be because of where they are...?)**_

* * *

In a small room just off the nave of the grand church, Arthur fidgeted with his cufflinks. They were new, never worn, bought by Alfred as a birthday present months ago. He had complained when Arthur had refused to wear them but the Brit had been adamant that he wanted to wear them to the wedding. They were matching teddy bears, both a shiny brown, and Arthur had loved them from the moment he opened the box.

What was taking them so long? Surely Alfred should be here by now? God, what if something had happened?

No, nothing had happened he assured himself. Nervously, he smoothed down his blue tie. His father had loaned it to him; apparently, he had worn it when he had married Arthur's mother and _his_ father had worn it when he had married. It seemed to be a family tradition. After all, his father had told him when he handed it over, who says it's only a bride who has to be wearing something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.

What if Alfred had cold feet? Arthur knew it wouldn't be because he didn't love him, rather the fact that he would be tied down, unable to get rid of Arthur if something awful happened. Or was this just a thought that Arthur had? Was _he_ the one getting cold feet?

He rose from the chair, pacing around the small room. His palms were sweating. Quickly, he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped them on it. He ran a hand through his hair before catching himself in the mirror. Cursing, he tried to fix what he had messed up then mentally apologised in God's general direction for swearing.

Finally, the door opened and Arthur spun to stare at his father in anticipation for some sort of explanation. Was it bad news? Oh, Lord, it was going to be bad news!

His panic must have been clear for his father smiled at him encouragingly and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, son. Alfred was just a bit late."

Arthur let out a long breath. "Typical. When I told him he'd be late to his own wedding, it was only a joke. He didn't have to take me seriously."

Grinning, his father nodded. "Funny – he said you would say something like that."

With a bark of laughter, Arthur shook his head. "I can't believe he made me wait."

"Yes, well. He's here now so..."

"Right," said Arthur and took a deep breath. He stepped forward but his father stopped him.

"Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?" he asked, levelling Arthur with his no-nonsense stare. "If you have any doubts at all, it's not too late to call it off. Your mother did that once."

"Eh?" Arthur blinked, his jaw dropping. "She did what?"

His dad laughed. "We were young and in love – rather like you two. When she was twenty-one and I was twenty-three, I asked her to marry me. We planned for six months and managed to get squeezed into her dream venue. After all that money, all that time, she entered the church – looking stunning, I must say. She got halfway up the aisle before halting, told everyone she couldn't go through with it and ran back to the room she had been waiting in. When I went to talk to her, she said that she was still in university and wanted to study and she wasn't sure what her future held. She was scared that something would go wrong. So we agreed to wait and, two years later, we were married.

"I know that you are older than her but you only just got a teaching post. You've been stressed this past year, organising the wedding and lessons and tests. I don't want you to do something you think you _have_ to do because you're in love. I want you to do this because you _want_ to."

"Dad," said Arthur, smiling happily. "I want this, I really do. Being stressed this year is just going to make married life more rewarding, don't you think. And, really, I already have a foothold in my career. I want to get married today."

"If you're sure."

"Yeah... Thank you."

Nodding, his dad smiled. "Good. Now stop worrying. Kiku will be here soon to tell us when to go."

* * *

It was another fifteen minutes before Kiku knocked gently on the door and entered. He smiled at Arthur and inclined his head – his Japanese etiquette was still deeply ingrained. Arthur found it sweet and admired Kiku for keeping his traditions alive. The Man of Honour (as Alfred had been calling him, despite Arthur's protests) was wearing a navy suit which was meant to differentiate from Arthur's ebony one.

"We are ready now, Arthur-kun," he said and held the door open for him. Arthur practically ran from the room before waiting for the other two men to catch up. His dad placed a hand on his shoulder as if to steady him which Arthur was grateful for: he didn't want to walk up the aisle holding his father's elbow or hand so this was a nice compromise.

Kiku stepped in front of them and opened the door slightly. He whispered, "Now," to someone and there was a shuffling beyond the door. Eventually, Arthur heard the first notes of the song they had chosen. It was called Faith of the Heart and had been used as the theme to the Star Trek: Enterprise TV programme, the supposed prequel to the original series. The song was beautiful and, though Arthur had objected to it, he realised that it fit quite well. So, as Russell Watson crooned from the speakers installed in the church, Kiku opened the door properly and led the small procession into the congregation proper.

Arthur almost stumbled when he spotted the reason why it had taken so long for Kiku to collect him. When they had been organising the venue, Arthur had insisted on keeping it simple. White roses in vases, perhaps some origami. He had made sure the flowers were in place earlier before retreating to get ready. However, his vague instruction about the origami had been taken advantage of and Alfred had gone all out.

Hanging above the left side of the church were several paper chains. Teddy bear paper chains. It was ridiculous but beautiful, especially with each teddy alternating with green and blue eyes. Small origami teddy bears were stuck to the walls and the end of the pews, some even declaring which row was for whom. On the altar, behind the reverend, sat all of Arthur's most precious teddies, their arms reaching for him.

On the right side, however, Alfred had decorated for himself. There were paper chains of what appeared to be XBox controllers and flying superheroes, colours alternating between blue and green. On this side, different science fiction objects and aliens were the subject of the origami. Somehow, it all seemed elegant.

His wide eyes roved over Gilbert, standing tall and grinning at Arthur. He winked before sticking his hands in the pockets of his charcoal trousers. Then his eyes passed the best man and locked onto Alfred.

The American was wearing a royal blue suit which made his eyes sparkle all the brighter. His tie matched his eyes, though, drawing Arthur's attention to the two areas of his body he loved the most. Alfred had his customary grin in place. A movement forced Arthur to glance at Alfred's twitching hands; either he was nervous or desperate to touch him. So he smiled back, rather shyly, not expecting all of the love that seemed to permeate the room. Though, considering the day, he supposed he should have expected it.

It seemed to take a while to get to his groom, the moment seeming to hang. Arthur instantly knew that he would remember – and treasure – this forever.

Ultimately, it ended and he found himself in front of everyone, Alfred beside him. The reverend turned to Arthur's father to ask him to declare that he was giving him away – something Arthur had been against doing but had agreed to on the promise of picking the music for the first dance – and Alfred held back on reaching out for Arthur. Instead, he fiddled with his own cufflinks, ones shaped like the badges from Star Trek. Arthur had bought them for him, for this day. He was glad that Alfred had remembered them.

Then Arthur felt his father squeeze his shoulder and let go. Almost immediately, Alfred grabbed at Arthur's hand. Arthur squeezed his in reassurance. They were here, they had made it, managed to walk down the long road and reach their coveted destination.

"Hey," Alfred whispered.

"Hey," Arthur replied.

They smiled at each other and turned to the minister. The man smiled at them and began his speech. "We are gathered here today..."

Arthur tuned him out. The next thing he had to do was going to be the most nerve-racking. They had both written their own vows but Arthur was terrified he would forget it. In fact, now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure what he had written down. And it was getting closer to the point when he _needed_ to remember. They had rehearsed the day before, how could he forget now?

The two of them turned to each other as the reverend urged Alfred to say his vows. The poor, beautiful man opened his mouth, closed it and then stared at Arthur in a panic. His own eyes wide, Arthur tried to tell him just to say anything, he didn't mind, Alfred wasn't the only one forgetting his vows, don't panic.

It seemed that the message was received as Alfred grinned and pulled Arthur a little closer. "Arthur. You have always been special to me and you always will be. I promise you that I will never walk away from you. I promise that I will clean up after myself" - Arthur snorted at this even as his vision went blurry, his heart doing funny things in his chest - "and that I will try not to moan about doing it. I promise to be there in the good and the bad and the worse. I promise to never let you go and to protect you from everything that life will throw at you. I'll fight them off with phasers and light sabers" - there was a chuckle from their audience - "and I will never let you go."

With Alfred finished, grinning at Arthur, the reverend turned to the teacher. His heart was clenching in a good way: Alfred's vows had been so achingly perfect. He was going to cry, he could feel it. So, to try and resist the pull of his happy tears, he began to say things off the top of his head.

"Alfred. You have always been dear to me – even before you gave me that teddy bear." He glanced at the one in question as Alfred and their parents chuckled. "I promise you that I will not leave you. I promise you that I will not let you do all the protecting in this relationship. I will protect you as much as you protect me. Perhaps not with phasers and light sabers but with love – which, incidentally, is the most powerful form of magic." This provoked more chuckling from those present. However, Alfred didn't laugh this time – he only smiled widely, his eyes watering. Borrowing something from Alfred's speech, he continued on, determined to finish before they both started crying. "I promise I will be there in the good and the bad and the worse. And I promise to avoid cooking complicated things." Alfred snorted at that, shaking his head as his grin grew.

They looked to the reverend who nodded at them and Kiku and Gilbert moved forward, presenting their rings. Alfred took one first and grabbed Arthur's hand eagerly, slipping it on as he murmured, "I love you." Arthur returned the gesture, repeating his words.

And, finally, the reverend shut his Bible, smiling happily. "I now pronounce you partners for life."

A cheer rattled the eaves and echoed in the belfry. Alfred grinned at Arthur, grabbed him round the waist and tugged him forward till he was pressed against his new husband. Arthur could only laugh as Alfred dipped him and planted a kiss on his lips. When he was finally righted, the congregation was applauding.

All he could do was grin as widely as Alfred.

* * *

Of course, Alfred hadn't just stopped at decorating the church without Arthur's knowledge. The hotel they were using for their reception was decorated in interlocking paper chains, their interests tangled together. Kiku had even made other pretty origami figures to be hung up: cranes and roosters and dolphins and their favourite characters. It was all beautiful and fitting and Arthur adored it.

They had an excellent meal, presided over by Arthur's co-worker, Francis. It was delicious and Arthur told him so – something he never normally did. But he was happy and didn't want to mar memories of this day.

Gilbert and Kiku delivered their speeches. Typically, Gilbert made fun of Alfred and had everyone laughing. Meanwhile, Kiku sang their praises with the odd anecdote. Their parents made speeches and, finally, the band took to the stage. People turned to watch as Alfred held out his hand for Arthur and, after rolling his eyes, Arthur allowed Alfred to tug him to his feet and lead him to the dance floor.

The guy at the keyboard started the familiar noises which Alfred frowned at, confused, obviously vaguely recognising it but thrown by the slower tempo. Arthur grinned and tugged Alfred into position. Then the singer started and Alfred blinked as he realised what it was. Thankfully, he wasn't shocked for long as he gathered Arthur in his arms and pulled him tighter, spinning and swaying.

"Isn't this-?"

"Yeah," said Arthur, quietly, a faint blush creeping up his cheeks. "It's... Well, it's our song now, isn't it?"

"I think I prefer the original," Alfred noted.

"Hm, yes, Queen did it better."

"Do I need to tell you that I was born to love you?" asked Alfred as he rested his forehead against Arthur's and gazed into his eyes.

Arthur chuckled. "No, I think I got the message the first time. Though I still wish you hadn't done it in the street."

"I was going for that scene. Y'know, from that film."

"Oh, hush," sighed Arthur.

"Sure," replied Alfred and promptly kissed Arthur. It was chaste, though, and he pulled back before Arthur could complain. "You're stuck with me now, though, honey."

With quiet huff of laughter, Arthur grinned. "My one and only teddy bear, hm?"

"Exactly."

* * *

_**I only wrote this because I kind of imagined the wedding having teddy bears of some sort - and then I didn't really mention them all that much. ^^" **_

_**The Queen song at the end is called I Was Born to Love You which I thought was sweet. It's slightly faster than I would choose to dance a first dance to - unless you don't want a romantic slow dance and want to kinda rock out or whatever. But I picked it cause of the title and lyrics. (I came to this decision by first trying to find songs with "Bear" in the title but I gave up when I discovered that it's mostly children songs and punk songs which aren't really appropriate for a slow, romantic song which was what I was going for. Then my brain went: Disney love song - Enchanted - Ella Enchanted - Somebody to Love - Queen.)**_

_**Alfred used that song to confess to him when they were both still in high school.**_

_**The deal with the first song and the cufflinks: When my cousin got married, she walked down the aisle to this song. It was pretty damn awesome - geeky and slowly romantic and appropriate lyrics. ("It's been a long road, getting from there to here. Been a long road but I'm glad we're finally here.) Her groom (now husband) had TARDIS cufflinks. It was the coolest, geekiest wedding I've ever been to (and I've been to two, including that one). I decided to give them awesome cufflinks. (You can totally get teddy bear and Star Trek badges cufflinks. I looked it up and was pleased.)**_

_**I have no idea what Francis teaches - French or some sort of cooking class, I suppose.**_

_**I think that's it. Goodbye universe - now I won't feel as if I've eaten too much sweet things in the oner every time I write and edit a chapter.**_


End file.
